Campers have free ride again

Freedom campers will have a free ride again this summer on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Campers avoiding designated parking spots and leaving roadsides in a mess have become a problem at many holiday spots around the country.

At last week's Thames Coromandel District Council meeting, councillors admitted the council could not currently issue fines to illegal freedom campers, while agreeing there needed to be more investigation into the issue.

A decision to delay action until the end of March was made, with staff asked to collect information on the problem this summer and to seek guidance from Local Government New Zealand.

Geoff Hawthorn, manager at Dickson Holiday Park near Thames, spoke at the council meeting about his concerns with freedom camping, which he said was becoming a problem in the district.

"All I've got to do is go for a drive up the coast and they are everywhere, hundreds of them. It's not because they can't find places, it's because they are cheapskates," Mr Hawthorn said.

It was unfair freedom campers were taking advantage of staying for free when there were spaces at holiday parks which were paying to maintain toilets, showers and laundry facilities required under council bylaws for camping on private property, he said.

The council's camping bylaw currently forbids freedom camping and can only be enforced via prosecution or seizure of vehicles, which the council considered "too expensive or draconian".

Late last year a bylaw change was made to allow the council to instead issue $40 fines for camping outside designated campgrounds but before it can be enacted a freedom camping strategy proposal needs to be developed.

The decision to delay action to seek more information was a good idea, Mr Hawthorn said, as the problem was occurring at many other New Zealand holiday spots and there was a expectation Local Government New Zealand would make recommendations soon.

- © Fairfax NZ News